Comment: Just blatant advertising. Theroadislong (talk) 10:44, 7 December 2024 (UTC)
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial services |
| Founder | Donald Kaberuka and Lionel Zinsou |
Number of locations | Kigali, Rwanda, Johannesburg, Abu Dhabi, London, Mauritius, Paris and Abidjan |
| Services | |
| Owner | Lionel Zinsou, Dr Donald Kaberuka, Dr Frannie Leautier, Emeryc Kpenou, and William Ediko[1] |
| Website | southbgroup |
SouthBridge Investments is a financial and investment advisory company based in Kigali, Rwanda incorporated in 2021 with business operations in Johannesburg, South Africa, Mauritius, East Africa, Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, London, United Kingdom and Paris, France. The company was incorporated in 2021 as a subsidiary of Southbridge Group.[2][3]
History
editSouthBridge Investment as a subsidiary of southbridge group was founded in 2021 as a result of the Group's strategic move to provide unique Pan-African tailored financial service, investment advisory and fund management for clients and partners within the African continent.[4] The origin of the company is traced to 2015 when the founders, Donald Kaberuka, a former president of African Development Bank who previously served as finance minister in the Rwandan government for eight years,[5][6] and Lionel Zinsou, former Beninese prime minister agreed the start the company. The two Africans agreed to establish the company as a Pan-African investment company that will offer investment banking opportunities for governments in the continent. In the years that led to the incorporation of the company in 2021, the founders decided the name southbridge which depicted the idea that their business would be mainly within the southern hemisphere and concentrating on the African continent.[7]
A pan-African investment company
editpharma investment agenda
editSouthbridge Investments began its business operations in 2021 focused on promoting increased foreign investment and access to finance in Africa in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. The company through one of its chief executive officer, Frannie Léautier expressed the need for increased investment from international pharmaceutical companies to take advantage of the disruption in the supply chain of the health sector in Africa that had affected the availability of essential medications like oxygen, or intravenous fluids. Also, addressing other challenging diseases like tuberculosis, malaria, HIV and AIDS that posed a threat to its growing population. The company called for increased investment in local manufacturing of pharmaceutical products such that the continent could be self sufficient in a case of any outbreak like the covid-19.[8]
emerging opportunities in Africa
editThe company had raised the need for investors to leverage on emerging opportunities in Africa after the covid19 pandemic which exposed the vast untapped business opportunities in the continent. It expressed the commitment in working to strengthen grid-based power in Africa for the next decades. According to the Andrew Alli, the group CEO and partner, "solar and other renewables have a huge role to play in Africa’s power mix and are probably the solution for bringing power to rural and off-grid populations." He shared on the need for Africa to create about 15 million jobs annually just to match the number of new entrants into its workforce. And focusing on industries like agribusiness, high-tech, biosciences, and tourism, which has huge untapped potential. Also, the introduction of the African free-trade zone was promising, with yet a corresponding rise in intra-African trade.[9][10]
Partnering for development in Africa
editAfrica has become one of the world's largest forest reserves and Southbridge Investments through its partnership with financial partners sought to promote the conservation of the forest reserves in the continent. Africa's targeted 100-million-hectare restoration agenda through the Afri100 and Great Green Wall initiatives sought to meet a 20-million-hectare interim target by 2027 with communities and SMEs urged to restore an estimated 8 million hectares of degraded land to keep on track with the efforts to reach net zero emissions by 2050.[11][12]
- ^ "SouthBridge Investments". Afri100. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
- ^ "SouthBridge Investments Announces Joint Venture". Thisday Newspaper. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ "SouthBridge Investments". Impact Assets. Retrieved 7 December 2024.
- ^ "SouthBridge Investment". Afri100. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
- ^ "Donald Kaberuka". International Growth Center. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
- ^ "Donald Kaberuka". World Bank. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
- ^ Holmey, Olivier (25 February 2021). "The pan‑African ambitions of SouthBridge investment bank". The African Report.
- ^ Alison Buckholtz (ed.). "Why Pharma Investors are Looking at Africa "With New Eyes"". International Finance Corporation. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
- ^ Jason Hopps, ed. (17 June 2021). "As Africa recovers, new investment opportunities beckon". How We Made It In Africa. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
- ^ "SouthBridge and BADEA : A clean breathing chance to the earth beckon". Ecofin Agency. 10 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2024.
- ^ "SouthBridge and two partners announced a $2 billion fund to finance restoration and reforestation projects in Africa". Ecofin Agency. 8 November 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
- ^ Sharm El Sheikh, ed. (7 November 2022). "Release:Anchor Investments Announced to Launch $2 Billion Fund for Locally-Led Restoration in Africa". World Resource Institute. Retrieved 2 December 2024.